Blogs from Centre, Moldova, Europe - page 2

Sunday July 26, 2015 – The train arrived in Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova, at 9am rather than at 8:30am. I started to think that my plan for getting to the monastery today might really not work out, as the bus left at 10:20 and I still had to check in to my room. I got some money from an ATM, my fifth currency of the trip, and went to buy my ticket to Romania for my final overnight train ride of the trip for Tuesday night. The woman there convinced me to wait until Tuesday to buy the ticket, as it would be cheaper. I listened, but will be very disappointed if it is somehow sold out and I waited to save the equivalent of 5 euros. Now I headed outside to find trolleybus ... read more

Geo: 47.0167, 28.8497Nicolae Ceausescu was both a madman and a megalomaniac - perhaps his most infamous project was construction of the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, the World's second-largest building trailing only the Pentagon. Construction started in 1984 and supposedly finished in 1997, though parts of the building remain unfinished, and the price tag for this monstrosity is somewhere over 3.3 billion Euros. There is no logic behind a building as grotesquely over-the-top as this one, and projects like this can only be blamed upon the massive egos of crazy bastards who wanted to leave behind some sort of a legacy. Unfortunately, Ceausescu's legacy is one of fear, control, and utter stupidity, as his policies essentially ruined the country - Google his brilliant ban on contraception, a move that was intended to drive up the population ... read more

Off-beat travel destinations tend to have enough in the way of plus points to warrant a visit, and the landlocked nation of Moldova slots firmly into this category. While it might still be disputed as to whether this small nation does actually qualify as the poorest in Europe, the challenge in this case was to determine whether this country had enough substance to make a European city break seem like a wholly viable option. Upon arrival in the Moldovan capital city of Chisinau, it appeared, at first glance, that the urban fabric would make for interesting exploration, and as the 'Chisinau in a day' venture developed, it seemed reasonable to deem this more of a city of experiences rather than individual tourist sights. This was no negative reflection on the whole package, and the prospect of ... read more

Geo: 47.0167, 28.8497Saturday finished with our nigbt at the opera. La Boheme sung in italian with russian surtitles, or were they ukranian? A beautiful and historic opera house, but not a world class company. An enjoyable evening though,, partly down to the performance and partly to the people watching. With a few hours to fill before Liz went off for her flight to Warsaw, first leg of her trip home, we had a good breakfast, dropped into the cathedral to see what was happening to find a service in progress in a clean bright white and gold space, then a last walk through the town back to the hotel and. then Liz into a taxi to the airport I had more time to fill before my train so I went to the archaelogical museum, lots of ... read more

As we come to the end of our time here in Moldova, it is difficult to put into words the way we feel about this place we have called home for the past 11 months. Of course we have grown to love this country and it's people, and saying good bye will be bittersweet. After a loooong winter, we were delighted as the first signs of spring came and the days began to lengthen. It was like a procession of blooming, starting with the apple and cherry trees. Then came the lilacs, tulips, daffodils, peonies, and now that summer is here...the roses! As the days grow hot and long we have been like two bears coming out of hibernation and rediscovering our surroundings all over again. In these last months, we are spending as much time ... read more